Walt Disney Company Makes Major Decision on Vaccines in Their US Employees

The Walt Disney Company has made a major decision regarding Covid-19 vaccines in the companies U.S. employees. In a new statement, the company revealed that it will require employees of its U.S. properties to be vaccinated. “At The Walt Disney Company, the safety and well-being of our employees during the pandemic has been and continues to be a top priority,” the statement began, per Variety.

“Toward that end, and based on the latest recommendations of scientists, health officials and our own medical professionals that the COVID-19 vaccine provides the best protection against severe infection, we are requiring that all salaried and non-union hourly employees in the U.S. working at any of our sites be fully vaccinated,” the statement continued. “Employees who aren’t already vaccinated and are working on-site will have 60 days from today to complete their protocols and any employees still working from home will need to provide verification of vaccination prior to their return, with certain limited exceptions. We have also begun conversations around this topic with the unions representing our employees under collective bargaining agreements.”

Finally, the company added that it will not only be current employees who are expected to be vaccinated. “In addition, all new hires will be required to be fully vaccinated before beginning employment,” the Walt Disney Company explained. “Vaccines are the best tool we all have to help control this global pandemic and protect our employees.”

The idea of vaccine requirement has been a hot topic lately, with President Biden recently instating a vaccine mandate for federal employees that does not technically require vaccination, but strongly encourages it. When announcing his administration’s new policy, Biden said, “It’s literally about life and death.” The U.S. President added, “That’s what it’s about. You know and I know, people talk about freedom. But I learned growing up, from school and my parents: With freedom comes responsibility.”

He also revealed financial incentives for citizens who get vaccinated and said, “I know that paying people to get vaccinated might sound unfair to folks who have gotten vaccinated already. But here’s the deal, if incentives help us beat this virus, I believe we should use them.” He added, “We all benefit if we can get more people vaccinated.”